Hoss' Blog

As the fall semester hits the half way mark, the two Morningside mock trial teams are gearing up for their first competition. Mockers at Morningside College have been working since the first day of classes of the fall semester to prepare for the long competing season. The season involves months of preparation, and competitions from October through March, when regional competitions are held.

Mock trial is the reenactment of a case in a courtroom setting. Each team is composed of three witnesses and three attorneys, and the teams play both defense and plaintiff. Mock trial is not only for political science and pre-law students. It’s a pretty diverse activity to be part of. The teams at Morningside have majors from elementary education, history, pre-law, and theatre, among others.

“Throughout my experiences in mock trial, I have witnessed theatre majors portray accents, design costumes, and give life to the person they are supposed to be. I have also watched perspective lawyers, too nervous to talk in front of their friends, stand toe-to-toe with the best team in the state,” said sophomore elementary education major, Liz Johnson. Johnson has been in mock trial since she was in high school and has plans on becoming a lawyer in her future.

She advocated that mock trial truly helps a person. “Mock trial doesn’t just help you become a lawyer, it helps you gain confidence and step out of your shell,” she said.

This year, collegiate mock trial teams throughout the entire nation will compete over a civil case. The case was written about a fictional accidental death of a spouse while a couple was on vacation. “It’s about an extremely dangerous scuba dive, where a diver had a medical condition, and the scuba diving company left her down in the water to die,” Johnson stated. The teams develop their cases to best suit their interests and goals and to best portray the witnesses they are calling to the stand.

“Now we have to decide if it’s the scuba diving company’s fault or the diver’s fault for failure to disclose information about her medical history,” Johnson said.

She compared this year’s case to last year, saying, “This year’s case only has two witnesses deal with math and tables, which makes it easier.”

The upcoming competition, taking place at Hamline University in St. Paul, will be held over fall break. The team will compete in four rounds over the course of two days, performing both plaintiff and defense roles twice.

“Neither team knows what to expect at this point. I think once the first competition is under our belt, we can start being more competitive and all of the tension will fall away,” Johnson said.

Regardless of the nervousness in the team, Morningside’s mock trial teams, well prepared, will put up a fight at Hamline University over fall break. They are in for a long season, but one worth the effort.

Hiking in Stone State Park.

While walking the miles of footpaths in Stone State Park, you can’t help but be in awe that Sioux City has such a magnificent area. Fall is arriving early throughout the park, with leaves already falling, some trees turning golden, and the crisp air coming through the trees. Those who love fall would be excited to visit Stone State Park in the next few weeks of hot summer air.

First inhabited by the Dakota Sioux, the land has plenty of history. After the Native Americans left the land, a man named Daniel Talbot started buying it piece by piece. The land was turned over the the Iowa DEpartment of Natural Resources in 1925 and now totals 1,242 acres.  This land expands through Iowa and South Dakota, running along the Missouri River in North Sioux City.

Although it’s a bit of a drive from the Morningside campus, it’s worth it. My friend Madison and I make the trip together, her with a camera around her neck and me with a backpack with pen and paper and water. Arriving at Stone State Park, you come to a fork in the road- you go up the hill or you go down the hill. The roads are narrow and steep. Signs point in all directions. I go all the way down to Turtle Lake, park the car, and start hiking. It’s a five minute walk to reach the lake on dirt paths that go through the forest. As my friend, Madison, and I reach the lake, we notice that the path is worn and uneven, as if water used to travel over it. The rust colored path is as hard as stone, like the dried up rivers around the Mid-West due to the drought.

The main portion of Turtle lake sits up on a hill. The grassy area has trees that shade it, letting the warm sunshine seep through the branches and leaves, casting shadows on the green floor. The wind carried the smell of rotting leaves, moist dirt, and a slight swamp smell. Heading down the hill, the wind picks up and causes the lake to ripple with waves. The floating down tilts slightly as I step on it. The water is murky, but still, I see the bluegills swimming happily along the seaweed. Across the water, the sunlight hits a tree that hangs out over the lake, illuminating the leaves and turning the tree golden. It’s beautiful.

We hike for another hour, going along the trails exploring and trying not to get lost. In the expansive forest area, the trails travel far. There are trees that have fallen in past storms, trees that are rotting away, and trees that are hundreds of years old. Somewhere near us, a woodpecker drills a hole into a tree trunk, the noise echoing through the quiet space. Rabbits run across the trail when they hear my footsteps and hop into hiding.

After an hour and a half of hiking, Madison and I decide to leave- it’s getting warm out in Sioux City as we reach the peak of the afternoon. We loved being out there. As Madison put it, “Stone STate park has a lot of horse and hiking trails. It’s a great place for families to visit.”.

Stone State Park brings visitors to the area. If you want to hike, run, ride horses, fish, camp, or go sight seeing, Stone State Park has it all.

To view all the available activities, go to the DNR website.

(Photos courtesy of Madison Fisher.)

Turtle Lake in Stone Stone Park.